Game system, game controlling method, and game controlling program

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus for controlling a game include: controlling a game based on gameplay of a game player; receiving instructions from the game player and forwarding the instructions for controlling the game; and setting respective viewpoints, from among a plurality of viewpoints, serving as bases for generating respective watching screens for viewing the game offered to respective watching players, among a plurality of watching players, different from the game player, where at least one of: (i) the setting includes employing watching player conditions regarding each of the plurality of watching players for each of the plurality of viewpoints; and (ii) the setting includes employing one or more predetermined conditions in setting one or more of the respective viewpoints.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/027,270 (allowed), accorded a filing date of Apr. 5, 2016; which is aNational Stage Application based on International Patent Application No.PCT/JP2014/002536, filed on May 14, 2014, which claims priority toJapanese Patent Application No.: JP 2013-216648, filed Oct. 17, 2013,the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a game controlling technology. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to a game system, a game controllingmethod, and a game controlling program for controlling a game in which aplurality of players can participate.

BACKGROUND ART

The widespread acceptance of terminal devices capable of executing gameshas resulted in a huge variety of games being offered. Some games aredesigned to be casually played and enjoyed for a short time; some othersare played deliberately and enjoyed over a long period of time.

SUMMARY Technical Problem

The natural advantage of the many varieties of games being offered isthe availability of a wide range of games to choose from. This, however,can be a disadvantage to some players having difficulty in dealing withtoo many choices. Many of these players hesitate to play time-consumingor hard-to-play games. There is a need for a technology that will allowsuch hesitant players to casually participate in the apparentlydifficult games.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances.An object of the invention is to provide a technology that will allowplayers to enjoy games more casually than before.

Solution to Problem

One embodiment of the present invention is a game controlling program.This game controlling program causes a computer to function as: a gamecontrolling unit controlling a game; a game player instruction receivingunit receiving an instruction from a game player and forwarding theinstruction to the game controlling unit; and a watching point settingunit setting a viewpoint position for generating a watching screen forviewing the game, the watching screen being offered to a plurality ofwatching players different from the game player.

Where other combinations of the above-outlined composing elements or theabove expressions of the present invention are converted betweendifferent forms such as a method, a device, and a system, they stillconstitute effective embodiments of this invention.

Advantageous Effect of Invention

The present invention thus provides a technology that allows players toenjoy games more casually than before.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a gamesystem in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a game managingserver in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a watching managingserver in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a streaming serverin one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a game playerterminal in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a watching playerterminal in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a typical game screen displayed onthe game player terminal.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a typical watching requestreceiving screen displayed on the watching player terminal.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a typical watching screendisplayed on the watching player terminal.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing another typical watching screendisplayed on the watching player terminal.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing still another typical watchingscreen displayed on the watching player terminal.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a typical game screen displayedon the game player terminal.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing another typical game screendisplayed on the game player terminal.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing still another typical watchingscreen displayed on the watching player terminal.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing still another typical watchingscreen displayed on the watching player terminal.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing still another typical watchingscreen displayed on the watching player terminal.

FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram showing the steps of a game controllingmethod in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a game managingserver in a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a watchingmanaging server in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a watching playerterminal in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing another typical watching screendisplayed on the watching player terminal.

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram showing still another typical watchingscreen displayed on the watching player terminal.

FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram showing another typical game screendisplayed on a game player terminal.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment

A game system in the embodiment of the present invention offers thefunction of allowing other users to watch a game being played by a gameplayer. The game system also offers the function of allowing a gamewatching user to execute a game-related action to affect the game. Inthe ensuing description, a player who plays a game will be referred toas “the game player,” and a user who watches the game will be referredto as “the watching player.” The game system controls the game inaccordance with instructions from the game player while providing thegame player with a game screen. The game system further generates a gamewatching screen different from the game screen offered to the gameplayer. The game watching screen allows the watching player to enjoywatching the game from a viewpoint different from that of the gameplayer. This provides opportunities for many watching players tocasually watch the game and experience the joy of the game, thuspromoting the acceptance of the game. The game player continues to playthe game while being encumbered by the game watching players. Thisenables the game player to enjoy a different kind of fun than whenplaying alone. The game player can thus enjoy playing the game over along time period without losing interest.

FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of a game system in thisembodiment. The game system 1 has a game managing server 100 thatmanages the game played by the game player, a watching managing server200 that manages the function of allowing the game to be watched, astreaming server 300 that distributes a game watching screen, a gameplayer terminal 400, a watching player terminal 500, and the Internet 2as a typical network interconnecting these components. The game playerterminal 400 transmits game-related instructions from the game player tothe game managing server 100 via the Internet 2. The game playerterminal 400 receives the game screen from the game managing server 100and displays the received game screen. The watching player terminal 500receives the game watching screen from the streaming server 300 via theInternet 2 and displays the received game watching screen. Where thewatching player is allowed to execute game-related actions, the watchingplayer terminal 500 receives from the watching managing server 200 awatching user interface defining the actions that can be executed by thewatching player. The watching player terminal 500 further transmits anaction-executing instruction of the watching player to the watchingmanaging server 200.

This embodiment assumes that the same game watching screen is viewed bynumerous watching players. Given that assumption, it is required toprevent the numerous watching player terminals 500 from directlycommunicating with the game managing server 100. The requirement is metby the streaming server 300 distributing the game watching screen and bythe watching managing server 200 managing the actions executed by thewatching players. This scheme prevents the game managing server 100 frombeing overloaded by the many watching players watching the game. Inanother embodiment, the game managing server 100 may assume part or allof the functions of the watching managing server 200 and of thestreaming server 300. In still another embodiment, the watching managingserver 200 may assume the functions of the streaming server 300.

The game system 1 may manage the watching of a plurality of games. Thatis, the game system 1 may have a plurality of game managing servers 100managing a plurality of different games. The watching managing server200 may be included in each of the individual game managing servers 100to manage the watching of the game managed by each game managing server100. Alternatively, a single watching managing server 200 may manage thewatching of a plurality of games managed by a plurality of game managingservers 100. In the latter case, the watching managing server 200 mayallow the watching player to select the game to watch from among thegames managed by the multiple game managing severs 100. Likewise, thestreaming server 300 may be included in each of the game managingservers 100. A single streaming server 300 may also distribute aplurality of game watching screens.

FIG. 2 shows a structure of the game managing server 100 in thisembodiment. The game managing server 100 has a communication section130, a control section 140, a game data holding section 160, and a gameplayer database 162. These components may be implemented using hardwareincluding the CPU of a computer, its memory, and programs loaded intothe memory. The functional blocks implemented by such componentscoordinating with one another are depicted here. It will be understoodby those skilled in the art that these functional blocks are implementedby hardware alone, by software alone, or by combinations of both indiverse forms.

The communication section 130 transmits and receives data to and fromanother apparatus via the Internet 2. The control section 140 allows thegame to proceed on the basis of game-related instructions issued by thegame player and received through the game player terminal 400. The gamedata holding section 160 holds the data and other resources necessaryfor enabling the game to proceed. The game player database 162 holdsinformation about the game player playing the game managed by the gamemanaging server 100. For example, the game player database 162 may holdthe ID, name, avatar, attributes, and level of the game player.

The control section 140 includes a game controlling unit 141, a gamescreen generating unit 142, a game player instruction receiving unit143, a watching point setting unit 144, a game watching screengenerating unit 145, a watching player instruction receiving unit 146, awatching screen UI information transmitting unit 147, and a game playermanaging unit 148.

The game player managing unit 148 receives game player information fromthe game player terminal 400 and registers the received information tothe game player database 162. The game player managing unit 148 furthermanages updates and deletion of the information registered in the gameplayer database 162. On receiving a game starting request from the gameplayer terminal 400, the game player managing unit 148 acquiresauthentication information about the game player from the game playerterminal 400. The game player managing unit 148 proceeds to authenticatethe game player by referencing the information registered in the gameplayer database 162. After successful authentication of the game player,the game player managing unit 148 allows the game controlling unit 141to start the game.

The game controlling unit 141 executes a game program for controllingthe game to be played by the game player. The game controlling unit 141allows the game to proceed by transmitting and receiving the datanecessary for game control to and from the game player terminal 400.

The game screen generating unit 142 generates the game screen to becontrolled by the game controlling unit 141. The game screen generatingunit 142 generates the game screen as follows: In a two-dimensional orthree-dimensional game world in which the game is to be played, the gamescreen generating unit 142 first sets a viewpoint position and aline-of-sight direction for rendering the game field in which thecharacters, items, and objects of the game, among others, are arranged.The game screen generating unit 142 then renders the game field as seenfrom the viewpoint position in the line-of-sight direction thusestablished. The viewpoint position and the line-of-sight direction maybe set by the game program, or set or changed in accordance withinstructions from the game player terminal 400. The game screengenerating unit 142 transmits the generated game screen to the gameplayer terminal 400 via the communication section 130. This embodimentis explained using an example in which the game managing server 100generates the game screen. In another embodiment, the game playerterminal 400 may generate the game screen. In this case, the gamemanaging server 100 replaces the game screen generating unit 142 with astructure for transmitting to the game player terminal 400 the data andother resources necessary for the game player terminal 400 to generatethe game screen.

The game player instruction receiving unit 143 receives game-relatedinstructions issued by the game player and received through the gameplayer terminal 400. The game player instruction receiving unit 143forwards the received instructions to the game controlling unit 141. Thegame controlling unit 141 controls the game in accordance with the gameplayer's instructions forwarded from the game player instructionreceiving unit 143.

The watching point setting unit 144 sets the viewpoint from which thewatching player watches the game controlled by the game controlling unit141. When the game watching screen generating unit 145 generates thegame watching screen, the watching point setting unit 144 sets theviewpoint position for rendering the game field. The watching pointsetting unit 144 may hold beforehand a plurality of positions, any oneof which may be set as the viewpoint position for watching. The watchingpoint setting unit 144 may then select one of the viewpoint positionsfor watching in accordance with predetermined conditions. The watchingpoint setting unit 144 may also change dynamically the viewpointposition for watching in accordance with predetermined conditions. Forexample, if the viewpoint for watching is set on a mobile object such asa vehicle or an aircraft, the watching point setting unit 144 mayautomatically move the mobile object having the viewpoint according to apredetermined algorithm. The watching point setting unit 144 may furthergenerate a new viewpoint for watching or delete the existing one underpredetermined conditions. For example, if a new object is placed intothe game field in the course of the game, the watching point settingunit 144 may set the viewpoint on the newly placed object. The watchingpoint setting unit 144 may also set a plurality of viewpoints forwatching to let the watching player switch from one viewpoint to anotherduring watching.

The watching point setting unit 144 may set conditions for the watchingplayer with regard to each viewpoint for watching. For example, thewatching point setting unit 144 may set a maximum number of watchingplayers allowed to watch the game. The maximum number may be determinedin accordance with the processing capacity of the watching managingserver 200 or of the streaming server 300. The watching point settingunit 144 may also set attributes of the watching players allowed towatch the game. For example, at a given viewpoint, the watching pointsetting unit 144 may allow only a male watching player to watch; atanother viewpoint, the watching point setting unit 144 may allow only afemale watching player to watch.

For each viewpoint for watching, the watching point setting unit 144sets an action that can be executed by the watching player. The actionexecutable by the watching player may be defined beforehand by the gameprogram, or changed dynamically in the course of the game, for example.The watching point setting unit 144 transmits the information about thewatching point thus established to the watching managing server 200.

The game watching screen generating unit 145 generates the game watchingscreen by rendering the game field using the viewpoint position set bythe watching point setting unit 144. The game watching screen generatingunit 145 transmits the generated game watching screen to the streamingserver 300 for distribution. The game watching screen generating unit145 may alternatively render a game field having an angle of view widerthan that of the actual game screen. This rendering is intended to allowthe watching player to change the line-of-sight direction to watch thegame field wider than the game screen. For example, the game watchingscreen generating unit 145 may render a horizontally extended game fieldthat will enable the line-of-sight direction to be changed from side toside. As another alternative, the game watching screen generating unit145 may render a spherical, 360-degree game field so that things can beseen in all directions in the three-dimensional game field.

This embodiment allows a plurality of watching players to watch the gamefrom a single watching point. That is, the streaming server 300distributes the game watching screen generated by the game watchingscreen generating unit 145 to a plurality of watching player terminals500, as will be discussed later. That means the watching point settingunit 144 does not accept the instruction to change the viewpointposition from any individual watching player. That is, no watchingplayer is allowed to change the viewpoint position of the game watchingscreen. In another embodiment, the game watching screen generating unit145 may generate a game watching screen for each watching player. Inthis case, the watching point setting unit 144 may receive theinstruction to change the viewpoint position from the watching playerterminal 500.

In this embodiment, the streaming server 300 distributes the gamewatching screen to the watching player terminal 500. In anotherembodiment, the game managing server 100 or the watching managing server200 may distribute the game watching screen to the watching playerterminal 500. In this case, the game managing server 100 or the watchingmanaging server 200 may additionally include a structure in which thegame screen generated by the game watching screen generating unit 145 isdistributed to the watching player terminal 500.

This embodiment is explained using an example in which the game managingserver 100 generates the game watching screen. In another embodiment,the watching player terminal 500 may generate the game watching screen.In this case, the game managing server 100 replaces the game screengenerating unit 142 with a structure for transmitting the data and otherresources necessary for the watching player terminal 500 to generate thegame watching screen to the watching player terminal 500 or to thewatching managing server 200. This structure has no need for thestreaming server 300.

The watching player instruction receiving unit 146 receives game-relatedinstructions from the watching player. Where intervention in the game bythe watching player is receivable, the watching managing server 200manages the game-related action to be executed by the watching player,as will be discussed later. That is, the watching player instructionreceiving unit 146 does not directly receive instructions from thewatching player terminal 500. Instead, the watching player instructionreceiving unit 146 receives instructions from the watching managingserver 200. Upon receipt of an instruction of action issued by thewatching player through the watching managing server 200, the watchingplayer instruction receiving unit 146 forwards the received instructionto the game controlling unit 141. The game controlling unit 141 executesthe action as instructed to let the action be reflected in the game.

The watching screen UI information transmitting unit 147 transmits tothe watching managing server 200 the information necessary for adding tothe watching screen a user interface that defines the actions executableon the game being watched by the watching player. The watching screen UIinformation transmitting unit 147 may be defined beforehand by the gameprogram, or may be set or changed dynamically by the watching pointsetting unit 144.

FIG. 3 shows a structure of the watching managing server in thisembodiment. The watching managing server 200 has a communication section230, a control section 240, a game data holding section 260, a watchingplayer database 262, and a passing-each-other communication conditionholding section 264. These structures are also implemented by hardwarealone, by software alone, or by combinations of both in diverse forms.

The communication section 230 transmits and receives data to and fromanother apparatus via the Internet 2. The control section 240 managesthe watching of the game by the watching player on the basis of theinformation received from the game managing server 100. The game dataholding section 260 holds the data and other resources necessary forgenerating the watching screen and for managing the actions executableby the watching player. The watching player database 262 holds theinformation about the watching player requesting to watch the game. Thepassing-each-other communication condition holding section 264 holds theconditions regarding passing-each-other communication between players.

The control section 240 includes a watching request receiving unit 241,a watching screen UI managing unit 242, a watching screen generatingunit 243, a watching player instruction aggregating unit 244, a watchingplayer managing unit 245, and a passing-each-other communicationmanaging unit 246.

The watching request receiving unit 241 receives a game watching requestfrom the watching player terminal 500. The watching request receivingunit 241 receives the information about the viewpoint for watching thegame from the game managing server 100, and stores the receivedinformation into the game data holding section 260. Upon receipt ofaccess from the watching player terminal 500, the watching requestreceiving unit 241 reads from the game data holding section 260 theinformation about the viewpoint for watching the game, and presents theinformation to the watching player terminal 500. The watching requestreceiving unit 241 may graphically present a positional relation betweenthe viewpoint for watching the game and the game field. If a gamewatching condition is set for each viewpoint for watching the game, thewatching request receiving unit 241 may further present that conditions.Where a plurality of viewpoints are set, the watching request receivingunit 241 may graphically depict positional relations between themultiple viewpoint positions on the one hand and the entire game fieldon the other hand. If the game system 1 has a plurality of game managingservers 100, with the watching managing server 200 managing the watchingof a plurality of games, the watching request receiving unit 241 mayfirst present the watching player terminal 500 with a list of games thatcan be watched. The watching request receiving unit 241 may then receivethe selection of the game to watch from the watching player terminal500.

The watching player managing unit 245 acquires from the watching playerterminal 500 the information about the watching player whose watchingrequest has been received by the watching request receiving unit 241.The watching player managing unit 245 registers the information thusacquired to the watching player database 262. The watching playermanaging unit 245 manages updates and deletion of the information aboutthe watching players.

The watching screen UI managing unit 242 manages the watching userinterface offered to the watching player terminal 500 along with thegame watching screen. The watching screen UI managing unit 242 acquiresfrom the game managing server 100 the information about the watchinguser interface and stores the acquired information into the game dataholding section 260. Upon receipt by the watching request receiving unit241 of a watching request from the watching player terminal 500, thewatching screen UI managing unit 242 reads from the game data holdingsection 260 the information about the watching user interface to beadded to the game watching screen in effect at the viewpoint selected bythe watching player. The watching screen UI managing unit 242 forwardsthe information thus read to the watching screen generating unit 243.

The watching screen UI managing unit 242 may add to the watching screena user interface that defines the actions executable by the watchingplayer without affecting the game. In this case, the watching screen UImanaging unit 242 may permit execution of the actions not directlyassociated with the game managed by the game managing server 100. Suchexecutable actions may include, for example, the clapping of hands andthe interjection of cheering by the watching player. These actions arenot reported to the game managing server 100 and will not be reflectedin the game. Nevertheless, these actions may be used in analyzing thereputation of the watching player, for example. Upon execution of suchan action, the watching screen generating unit 243 may generate a gamewatching screen showing how the action is being executed.

The watching screen generating unit 243 generates the watching screen tobe displayed on the watching player terminal 500. The watching screengenerating unit 243 generates the watching screen that includes a gamewatching screen generated by the game managing server 100 anddistributed by the streaming server 300, and a watching user interfacemanaged by the watching screen UI managing unit 242. For example, thewatching screen generating unit 243 may generate the watching screen asa webpage that is transmitted to the watching player terminal 500 usingHTTP and displayed by a web browser of the watching player terminal 500.The watching screen generating unit 243 embeds into the watching screenwebpage the information from the streaming server 300 that distributesthe game watching screen as viewed from the viewpoint selected by thewatching player. The watching screen generating unit 243 also embedsinto the watching screen webpage the script and other resources thatdescribe the watching user interface defining the actions executable bythe watching player from the selected viewpoint. This allows thewatching player, who may not have a dedicated game terminal, to executegame-related actions while viewing the watching screen using, forexample, a personal computer that has a browser for browsing webpages.The watching screen generating unit 243 may embed game watching screensof a plurality of games into the watching screen webpage. The watchingscreen generating unit 243 transmits the watching screen thus generatedto the watching player terminal 500. Where the watching player terminal500 generates the game watching screen as mentioned above, the watchingscreen generating unit 243 may transmit to the watching player terminal500 only the watching user interface and the data necessary forgenerating the game watching screen.

The watching player instruction aggregating unit 244 aggregates theaction execution instructions received from a plurality of watchingplayer terminals 500. This embodiment assumes that a plurality ofwatching players view the same game watching screen. Given thatassumption, it is not preferable to let all action executioninstructions from individual watching players be reflected in the game.The watching player instruction aggregating unit 244 thus aggregates theaction execution instructions from a plurality of watching players inaccordance with a predetermined algorithm. The watching playerinstruction aggregating unit 244 then transmits to the game managingserver 100 the aggregated instructions in the form of an actionexecution instruction representing all watching players. This givesnumerous watching players an opportunity to intervene in the game whilewatching it. The watching player instruction aggregating unit 244 mayperform instruction aggregation by statistically processing the actionexecution instructions from the watching players. For example, with aplurality of watching players issuing their action executioninstructions, the watching player instruction aggregating unit 244 maydetermine the action execution instruction by majority vote. As anotherexample, the watching player instruction aggregating unit 244 maydetermine the action execution instruction by calculating a mean, anarithmetic weighted mean, a median, and a mode of the aggregatedinstructions. As a further example, the watching player instructionaggregating unit 244 may determine that the instruction from thehighest-level watching player is to represent the watching players as awhole. As an even further example, the watching player instructionaggregating unit 244 may determine that the instruction from thewatching player watching the game over the longest time period is torepresent all watching players.

In another embodiment, the action execution instructions from individualwatching players may all be reflected in the game. In this case, thewatching player instruction aggregating unit 244 may be replaced with astructure for transmitting the instructions received from the watchingplayer terminals 500 to the game managing server 100.

The passing-each-other communication managing unit 246 managespassing-each-other communication between watching players.Passing-each-other communication generally refers to a scheme in which,when two players each possessing a game terminal holding save data orother information designed to conduct passing-each-other communicationcome within a predetermined distance of each other, their game terminalscommunicate with each other to generate a predetermined event on eachgame terminal. The passing-each-other communication managing unit 246reads predetermined conditions for triggering passing-each-othercommunication from the passing-each-other communication conditionholding section 264. If certain conditions are met between players notactually within a predetermined distance of each other, thepassing-each-other communication managing unit 246 still considers theplayers to be within the predetermined distance of each other and thusconducts passing-each-other communication.

The conditions for triggering passing-each-other communication mayinclude, for example, a condition requiring that the players watch thesame game, a condition requiring that the players watch the game fromthe same viewpoint position, and a condition requiring that the playerswatch the game from one of a plurality of related viewpoint positions.Passing-each-other communication may be conducted between game players,between watching players, or between a game player and a watchingplayer. The events generated by passing-each-other communication mayinclude, for example, an event in which characters, items, objects, orother entities related to the game are exchanged; and an event in whichthe point value, level, or ability score of the game is increasedbetween players. The passing-each-other communication managing unit 246generates the event defined by the conditions held in thepassing-each-other communication condition holding section 264. Thepassing-each-other communication managing unit 246 then reportsgeneration of the event to the game player terminals or to the watchingplayer terminals conducting passing-each-other communicationtherebetween.

FIG. 4 shows a structure of the streaming server in this embodiment. Thestreaming server 300 includes a communication section 330, a controlsection 340, and a game watching screen holding section 360. Thesestructures are implemented by hardware alone, by software alone, or bycombinations of both in diverse forms.

The communication section 330 transmits and receives data to and fromanother apparatus via the Internet 2. The control section 340 performscontrol to distribute the game watching screen received from the gamemanaging server 100 to the watching player terminal 500. The gamewatching screen holding section 360 holds game watching screen datareceived from the game managing server 100.

The control section 340 includes a game watching screen acquiring unit341 and a game watching screen distributing unit 342.

The game watching screen acquiring unit 341 acquires the game watchingscreen data from the game managing server 100 and stores the acquireddata into the game watching screen holding section 360. The gamewatching screen distributing unit 342 reads the game watching screendata from the game watching screen holding section 360 in response to arequest from the watching player terminal 500, and transmits theretrieved data to the requesting watching player terminal 500. Where thegame watching screen is distributed only in real time, the game watchingscreen holding section 360 may temporarily hold the game watching screendata and delete the data after distributing the game watching screen tothe watching player terminal 500.

FIG. 5 shows a structure of the game player terminal in this embodiment.The game player terminal 400 has an input device 420, a communicationsection 430, a control section 440, a game data holding section 460, anda display device 466. These structures are implemented by hardwarealone, by software alone, or by combinations of both in diverse forms.

The communication section 430 transmits and receives data to and fromanother apparatus via the Internet 2. The input device 420 receivesinstructions input from the game player, and forwards the receivedinstructions to the control section 440. The input device 420 may be acontroller having buttons and keys for allowing the game player to inputthe instructions. The control section 440 controls the game executed bythe game player. The game data holding section 460 holds data and otherresources necessary for controlling the game. The display device 466displays the game screen controlled by the control section 440.

The control section 440 includes a game screen acquiring unit 441, agame screen displaying unit 442, a game player instruction receivingunit 443, and a game player instruction transmitting unit 444.

The game screen acquiring unit 441 acquires the game screen from thegame managing server 100. In this embodiment, the game managing server100 generates the game screen as described above. In another embodiment,the game player terminal 400 may generate the game screen. In this case,the game player terminal 400 will cause the game data holding section460 to hold, for example, game field shape data necessary for renderingthe game field, and shape data for making up characters, items, objects,and other entities to be arranged in the game field. The game playerterminal 400 will further replace the game screen acquiring unit 441with a structure for acquiring from the game managing server 100 thegame-related information necessary for generating the game screen, and astructure for generating the game screen.

The game screen displaying unit 442 displays on the display device 466the game screen acquired by the game screen acquiring unit 441 from thegame managing server 100. The game player instruction receiving unit 443receives game-related instructions input by the game player through theinput device 420. The game player instruction transmitting unit 444transmits the instruction received by the game player instructionreceiving unit 443 to the game managing server 100.

FIG. 6 shows a structure of the watching player terminal in thisembodiment. The watching player terminal 500 has an input device 520, acommunication section 530, a control section 540, a game data holdingsection 560, and a display device 566. These structures are implementedby hardware alone, by software alone, or by combinations of both indiverse forms.

The communication section 530 transmits and receives data to and fromanother apparatus via the Internet 2. The input device 520 receivesinstructions input by the watching player, and forwards the receivedinstructions to the control section 540. The input device 520 may be acontroller having buttons and keys for allowing the watching player toinput the instructions. The control section 540 controls the watching ofthe game. The game data holding section 560 holds the data and otherresources necessary for watching the game. The display device 566displays screens such as the watching screen.

The control section 540 includes a watching screen acquiring unit 541, awatching screen displaying unit 542, a watching player instructionreceiving unit 543, and a watching player instruction transmitting unit544.

The watching screen acquiring unit 541 acquires the watching screen fromthe watching managing server 200. In this embodiment, the game managingserver 100 generates the game screen as descried above. In anotherembodiment, the watching player terminal 500 may generate the gamescreen. In this case, the watching player terminal 500 will cause thegame data holding section 560 to hold, for example, game field shapedata necessary for rendering the game field, and shape data for makingup characters, items, objects, and other entities to be arranged in thegame field. The watching player terminal 500 will further include astructure for acquiring from the game managing server 100 thegame-related information necessary for generating the game watchingscreen, and a structure for generating the game watching screen.

The watching screen displaying unit 542 displays on the display device566 the watching screen acquired from the watching managing server 200by the watching screen acquiring unit 541. Where the watching screenincludes a watching user interface that defines the actions executableby the watching player, the watching player instruction receiving unit543 receives an action-related instruction input by the watching playerthrough the input device 520. The watching player instructiontransmitting unit 544 transmits to the watching managing server 200 theinstruction received by the watching player instruction receiving unit543.

FIG. 7 shows a typical game screen displayed on the game playerterminal. This is a typical game screen of a car racing game in whichgame players drive their cars on a racing course. The game managingserver 100 executes a car racing game program to generate a game screen600 by rendering the racing course as viewed in the driving directionfrom a viewpoint position set behind the game player's car. The gamemanaging server 100 transmits the generated game screen 600 to the gameplayer terminal 400. The game screen acquiring unit 441 of the gameplayer terminal 400 acquires the game screen from the game managingserver 100. The game screen displaying unit 442 displays the acquiredgame screen 600 on the display device 466. The game player terminal 400receives from the game player such instructions as operation of thesteering wheel, operation of the accelerator pedal, and operation ofbrakes. The game player terminal 400 transmits the received instructionsto the game managing server 100. The game managing server 100 controlsthe game player's car in accordance with the instructions received fromthe game player terminal 400.

FIG. 8 shows a typical watching request receiving screen displayed onthe watching player terminal. In order to receive a request to watch thegame shown in FIG. 7, the watching request receiving unit 241 of thewatching managing server 200 transmits to the watching player terminal500 a watching request receiving screen 610 that shows the entire racingcourse and a plurality of viewpoint positions from which the watchingplayer can watch the game. The watching player terminal 500 displays thewatching request receiving screen 610, receives the selected viewpointposition from which to watch the game from the watching player, andtransmits the received viewpoint position to the watching managingserver 200.

FIG. 9 shows a typical watching screen displayed on the watching playerterminal. When the watching request receiving unit 241 of the watchingmanaging server 200 receives the selected viewpoint from the watchingplayer terminal 500, the watching screen generating unit 243 generates awatching screen 620 that includes a game watching screen as viewed fromthe designated viewpoint and a watching user interface in effect at thatviewpoint. The watching screen generating unit 243 further transmits thegenerated watching screen 620 to the watching player terminal 500. Thewatching screen acquiring unit 541 of the watching player terminal 500acquires the watching screen 620 from the watching managing server 200.The watching screen displaying unit 542 displays the acquired watchingscreen 620 on the display device 566. The watching screen 620 shows agame watching screen 622 and a watching user interface 624. The watchinguser interface 624 includes a camera switching button 626. The watchingplayer can change the viewpoint position by inputting an operation ofthe camera switching button 626.

FIG. 10 shows another typical watching screen displayed on the watchingplayer terminal. When the watching player instruction receiving unit 543receives the input of the camera switching button 626 through thewatching screen 620 in FIG. 9, the watching player instructiontransmitting unit 544 transmits the received instruction to the watchingmanaging server 200. In accordance with the instruction received fromthe watching player terminal 500, the watching screen UI managing unit242 of the watching managing server 200 changes the viewpoint positionof the watching player. The watching screen generating unit 243generates a watching screen 630 corresponding to the newly inputviewpoint and transmits the generated watching screen 630 to thewatching player terminal 500. The watching player terminal 500 displaysthe watching screen 630 acquired from the watching managing server 200.In this manner, the watching screen 630 is displayed on the displaydevice 566 as shown in FIG. 10. The watching screen 630 displays a gamewatching screen 632 different from that in FIG. 9 and a watching userinterface 634. The watching user interface 634 includes a cameraswitching button 636 and a button 638 for executing the action ofthrowing a bottle. The watching player may input an operation of thebutton 638 to throw a bottle onto the racing course, thereby encumberingthe game player.

FIG. 11 shows still another typical watching screen displayed on thewatching player terminal. When the watching player instruction receivingunit 543 receives the input of the button 638 through the watchingscreen 630 in FIG. 10, the watching player instruction transmitting unit544 transmits the received instruction to the watching managing server200. The watching player instruction aggregating unit 244 of thewatching managing server 200 aggregates the instructions received fromthe watching player terminals 500 before determining an action toexecute. If the watching player instruction aggregating unit 244determines that the action of throwing a bottle onto the racing coursefrom the viewpoint position of the watching player is to be executed,the watching player instruction aggregating unit 244 transmits aninstruction to execute the action of throwing a bottle to the gamemanaging server 100. Upon receipt of the instruction from the watchingmanaging server 200, the watching player instruction receiving unit 146of the game managing server 100 forwards the instruction to the gamecontrolling unit 141. The game controlling unit 141 executes the actionof throwing a bottle onto the racing course in accordance with thereceived instruction. Thus as shown in FIG. 11, a watching screen 640displays a game watching screen 642 showing a bottle 644 getting thrownonto the racing course.

FIG. 12 shows a typical game screen displayed on the game playerterminal. The game controlling unit 141 executes the action of throwingthe bottle onto the racing course in accordance with the receivedinstruction. In turn, the game screen generating unit 142 generates agame screen 650 showing the action taking place and transmits thegenerated game screen 650 to the game player terminal 400. The gamescreen acquiring unit 441 of the game player terminal 400 acquires thegame screen 650. The game screen displaying unit 442 displays the gamescreen 650 thus acquired on the display device 466. Thus as shown inFIG. 12, the game screen 650 shows a bottle 652 getting thrown onto theracing course.

FIG. 13 shows another typical game screen displayed on the game playerterminal. This is a typical game screen of a tower defense game. Thegame player can build an attack tower in the surroundings of the gameplayer's castle in order to defend the castle against monsters comingout of their lairs. When the game player instruction receiving unit 143of the game managing server 100 receives from the game player terminal400 an instruction to build an attack tower, the game controlling unit141 builds the attack tower in a designated position and registers datato that effect in the game player database 162. In this manner, anattack tower 662 is built anew in the game field on a game screen 660.

At this time, the watching point setting unit 144 sets a watchingviewpoint for the newly built attack tower 662. The watching screen UIinformation transmitting unit 147 transmits to the watching managingserver 200 the information about a watching user interface that allowsthe watching player to execute the action of shooting at monsters fromthe newly set viewpoint of the attack tower 662. On the basis of theinformation acquired from the game managing server 100, the watchingmanaging server 200 receives anew a request to watch from the viewpointof the attack tower 662. In this manner, the watching player can changethe viewpoint to the attack tower 662 and participate in the game as ashooter shooting at the monsters from the attack tower 662.

FIG. 14 shows still another typical watching screen displayed on thewatching player terminal. When the watching player changes the viewpointto the attack tower 662, the display device 566 displays a watchingscreen 670 that includes a game watching screen showing the game fieldas viewed from the attack tower 662. The watching player can move asight 672 typically using arrow keys and shoot by operating buttons, forexample. The watching player's instructions to execute the shootingaction are transmitted from the watching player terminal 500 to the gamemanaging server 100 via the watching managing server 200. The gamemanaging server 100 causes the transmitted instructions to be reflectedin the game. At this time, the watching screen 670 may display an avatarof the watching player and show how the avatar of the watching player isexecuting the action. The watching player's avatar may be rendered onthe watching screen by the watching screen generating unit 243 of thewatching managing server 200. Alternatively, the avatar may besuperimposed on the watching screen by the watching screen displayingunit 542 of the watching player terminal 500.

FIG. 15 shows still another typical watching screen displayed on thewatching player terminal. The game shown in FIG. 13 provides thewatching player with a watching screen 680 as viewed from the viewpointof an armored helicopter. The armored helicopter is moved by thewatching point setting unit 144 of the game managing server 100. Thatis, the watching player cannot move the viewpoint position by himself orherself. Instead, the watching player moves on board the armoredhelicopter being moved automatically. As mentioned above, the gamewatching screen generating unit 145 may generate beforehand a gamewatching screen having a wider angle of view, allowing the watchingplayer to change the line-of-sight direction. This enables the watchingplayer to search for a monster while changing the line-of-sightdirection and to shoot at the encountered monster.

If the armored helicopter is destroyed by the attack of the monster, thegame controlling unit 141 notifies the watching point setting unit 144that the armored helicopter has been destroyed. In turn, the watchingpoint setting unit 144 notifies the watching managing server 200 thatthe viewpoint of the armored helicopter has deleted. This causes theviewpoint of the armored helicopter to be deleted, with the watchingplayer moved forcibly to another viewpoint. For example, the watchingpoint setting unit 144 may move the watching player who was watching thegame from the viewpoint of the now destroyed armored helicopter to aviewpoint overlooking the entire game field. As shown in FIG. 16, thewatching point setting unit 144 may thus cause the watching playerterminal 500 to display a watching screen 690 that includes a gamewatching screen overlooking the entire game field. Following the changeto the viewpoint overlooking the entire game field, the watching playermanaging unit 245 may again enable the watching player to change theviewpoint to the armored helicopter if predetermined conditions are met.For example, upon elapse of a predetermined time period from thedestruction of the armored helicopter, the watching player managing unit245 may again allow the watching player to switch to the viewpoint ofthe armored helicopter. While the armored helicopter is being attackedby a monster, the watching player's viewpoint may be changed to anotherposition before the destruction of the armored helicopter to avoid the“death” of the watching player if predetermined conditions are met. Inanother example, where the watching player is charged with apredetermined amount of money, the watching player managing unit 245 maychange the watching player's viewpoint to another position.

Of a plurality of watching players watching the game from the viewpointof the armored helicopter, a predetermined player may be allowed topilot the armored helicopter. For example, the watching screen UImanaging unit 242 may add a user interface for executing the action ofpiloting the armored helicopter only to the watching screen transmittedto the highest-level watching player among the players watching the gamefrom the viewpoint of the armored helicopter. The watching playerinstruction aggregating unit 244 receives through the user interface aninstruction to execute the action of piloting the armored helicopter,and transmits the received instruction to the game managing server 100.Likewise, the viewpoint of an armored vehicle may be provided to let arepresentative watching player drive the armored vehicle.

In a role playing game as another example, there may be established asthe watching viewpoint a bazaar place where such items as weapons andarmors are bought and sold. The watching players watching the game fromthe viewpoint of the bazaar place may thus exchange their items betweenthem at that bazaar place.

In a role playing game as still another example, there may beestablished as the watching viewpoint a non-player character who is amember of the game player's party. In this case, if there is no watchingplayer, the non-player character may be controlled by the game managingserver 100. In the presence of any watching player, that watching playermay control the non-player character. Where the watching playercontrolling the non-player character participates in a battle ofplayers' characters, the watching player may be awarded points or anincreased ability score, for example.

When provided with the function of executing game-related actions asdescribed above, the watching player can actively experience the ongoinggame. The watching player can thus understand the specifics of the gameand enjoy the world view offered by the game. The watching player needonly control limited functions and thus can casually enjoy the game thatmay require advanced skills. Since the opportunity to casually enjoygames is provided extensively as discussed above, the general acceptanceof the games will be further promoted.

The watching screen may present the watching player with informationthat is not presented to the game player. For example, in a role playinggame, the watching screen may present items hidden in the game field,the positions and types of enemy characters, and other information. Thisallows the watching player not only to simply enjoy the game but also toenjoy watching the game player playing the game from the so-called“god's viewpoint.”

FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram showing the steps of the game controllingmethod in this embodiment. The game player accesses the game managingserver 100 using the game player terminal 400 and requests the start ofthe game (S10). This causes the game controlling unit 141 of the gamemanaging server 100 to start controlling the game (S12). The game screengenerating unit 142 generates the game screen (S14), and transmits thegenerated game screen to the game player terminal 400 (S16). When thegame screen acquiring unit 441 of the game player terminal 400 acquiresthe game screen, the game screen displaying unit 442 displays the gamescreen on the display device 466 (S18). When the game player instructionreceiving unit 443 of the game player terminal 400 receives aninstruction from the game player through the input device 420 (S20), thegame player instruction transmitting unit 444 transmits the receivedinstruction to the game managing server (S22). When the game playerinstruction receiving unit 143 of the game managing server 100 receivesthe instruction from the game player terminal 400, the game playerinstruction receiving unit 143 forwards the instruction to the gamecontrolling unit 141.

The watching point setting unit 144 of the game managing server 100 setsthe watching point for generating the game watching screen (S144). Thegame watching screen generating unit 145 of the game managing server 100generates the game watching screen in effect at the watching point(S26), and transmits the game watching screen to the streaming server300 (S28). The watching screen UI information transmitting unit 147 ofthe game managing server 100 transmits watching screen UI information tothe watching managing server 200 (S30). The watching request receivingunit 241 of the watching managing server 200, upon receipt of accessfrom the watching player terminal 500, presents the watching playerterminal 500 with watching points from which the game can be watched(S32). When the watching player terminal 500 selects one of the watchingpoints and requests the watching managing server 200 to watch the game(S34), the watching screen generating unit 243 of the watching managingserver 200 generates the watching screen including the watching userinterface and transmits the generated watching screen to the watchingplayer terminal 500 (S36). Upon acquiring the watching screen, thewatching screen acquiring unit 541 of the watching player terminal 500requests the streaming server 300 to transmit the game watching screenincluded in the watching screen (S38). The game watching screendistributing unit 342 of the streaming server 300 transmits therequested game watching screen to the watching player terminal 500(S40). The watching screen displaying unit 542 of the watching playerterminal 500 displays on the display device 566 the watching screen thatincludes the game watching screen and the watching user interface (S42).When the watching player instruction receiving unit 543 of the watchingplayer terminal 500 receives an instruction from the watching playerthrough the input device 520 (S44), the watching player instructiontransmitting unit 544 transmits the instruction to the watching managingserver 200 (S46). The watching player instruction aggregating unit 244of the watching managing server 200 receives instructions from aplurality of watching player terminals 500, aggregates the receivedinstructions, and determines the instruction to be transmitted to thegame managing server 100 (S48). The watching player instructionaggregating unit 244 transmits the instruction thus determined to thegame managing server 100 (S50). Upon receipt of the instruction from thewatching managing server 200, the watching player instruction receivingunit 146 of the game managing server 100 forwards the instruction to thegame controlling unit 141. Returning to step S12, the game controllingunit 141 of the game managing server 100 controls the game in accordancewith the instruction received from the game player and with theinstruction received from the watching player (S12).

Second Embodiment

The second embodiment of the present invention is described below inconnection with techniques that allow the watching player to play a minigame associated with the game being played by the game player, so thatthe watching player can participate in the game being executed by thegame player by way of the mini game. The overall configuration of thegame system according to the second embodiment is substantially the sameas the overall configuration of the game system according to the firstembodiment shown in FIG. 1. In the second embodiment, the watchingplayer terminal 500 acquires from the watching managing server 200 amini game that can be executed in accordance with the progress state ofthe game being watched, and executes the acquired mini game. Thewatching player terminal 500 transmits the result of the execution ofthe mini game to the watching managing server 200. The watching managingserver 200 transmits the result of the mini game execution coming fromthe watching player terminal 500 to the game managing server 100. Inaccordance with the result of the mini game execution from the watchingplayer terminal 500, the game managing server 100 affects the game beingexecuted by the player at the game player terminal 400. In this manner,the watching player can not only watch the game being executed by thegame player but also affect the game within a range permitted to thewatching player in accordance with the progress state of the game. Thisenhances the attractiveness of the game. Giving numerous watchingplayers the opportunity to casually watch the game and to experience thejoy of the game contributes to promoting the general acceptance of thegame. The game player proceeds with the game while being encumbered bythe watching players. This gives the game player an enjoyment differentfrom that of solo playing, prompting the game player to continue playingthe game for an extended time period without loosing interest.

FIG. 18 shows a structure of a game managing server 100 in the secondembodiment. The game managing server 100 in the second embodimentsubstitutes a mini game information transmitting unit 150, a mini gameresult receiving unit 151, and a mini game executability determiningunit 152 for the watching player instruction receiving unit 146 andwatching screen UI information transmitting unit 147 of the gamemanaging server 100 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2. The otherstructures and their workings are the same as those of the firstembodiment.

The mini game executability determining unit 152 determines theexecutability of the mini game by the watching player in accordance withthe progress state of the game being controlled by the game controllingunit 141. The game data holding section 160 stores such data as theidentification information about the mini game executable by thewatching player, in association with the data representing theconditions to be met for the mini game to be executable. The mini gameexecutability determining unit 152 determines whether or not the minigame can be executed by the watching player by referencing the game dataholding section 160. The mini game information transmitting unit 150transmits to the watching managing server 200 the information about themini game executable by the watching player. When requested by the gameplayer terminal 400 to help the watching player, the mini gameinformation transmitting unit 150 may transmit the information about themini game to the watching managing server 200 and instruct the watchingmanaging server 200 to accept execution of the mini game by the watchingplayer. The watching managing server 200 then transmits the mini gameprogram to the watching player terminal 500.

The mini game result receiving unit 151 receives from the watchingmanaging server 200 the result of the mini game executed on the watchingplayer terminal 500, and forwards the received result to the gamecontrolling unit 141. The game controlling unit 141 affects the gameunder its control in a predetermined manner in accordance with the minigame result. For example, upon receipt of a result indicative of asuccessful execution of the mini game, the game controlling unit 141 mayaffect the game in a manner improving its status that triggeredexecution of the mini game. On receiving a result indicative of anunsuccessful execution of the mini game, the game controlling unit 141may leave the game unsupported in its poor status or may affect the gamein a manner worsening its status.

FIG. 19 shows a structure of a watching managing server 200 in thesecond embodiment. The watching managing server 200 in the secondembodiment substitutes a mini game managing unit 250 for the watchingplayer instruction aggregating unit 244 in the watching managing server200 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3. The other structures andtheir workings are the same as those of the first embodiment.

The mini game managing unit 250 acquires from the game managing server100 the information about the mini game executable on the watchingplayer terminal 500, and forwards the acquired information to thewatching screen UI managing unit 242. The watching screen UI managingunit 242 displays, on the watching screen to be transmitted to thewatching player terminal 500, the information about the executable minigame and a user interface for transmitting to the watching managingserver 200 an instruction to execute the mini game. Upon receipt of therequest to execute the mini game from the watching player terminal 500,the mini game managing unit 250 reads the program of the requested minigame from the game data holding section 260 and transmits the mini gameprogram to the watching player terminal 500. The mini game managing unit250 acquires the result of the execution of the mini game from thewatching player terminal 500 having executed the mini game program, andtransmits the result of the mini game execution to the game managingserver 100.

FIG. 20 shows a structure of a watching player terminal 500 in thesecond embodiment. The watching player terminal 500 in the secondembodiment substitutes a mini game acquiring unit 550, a mini gamecontrolling unit 551, and a mini game result transmitting unit 552 forthe watching player instruction receiving unit 543 and watching playerinstruction transmitting unit 544 in the watching player terminal 500 ofthe first embodiment shown in FIG. 6. The other structures and theirworkings are the same as those of the first embodiment.

The mini game acquiring unit 550 requests execution of the mini gamefrom the watching managing server 200, the request being made through auser interface intended to request mini game execution and arranged onthe watching screen provided by the watching managing server 200. Withthis request, the mini game acquiring unit 550 acquires the mini gameprogram from the watching managing server 200. The mini game controllingunit 551 executes the mini game program acquired from the watchingmanaging server 200, and controls the mini game in accordance with theinstructions input by the watching player through the input device 520.The mini game result transmitting unit 552 transmits the result of themini game to the watching managing server 200.

FIG. 21 shows another typical watching screen displayed on the watchingplayer terminal. In an urban development simulation game, the gamecontrolling unit 141 of the game managing server 100 builds facilitiesin a city in response to the game player's instructions to simulate theincrease and decrease in the city's population, and the city's growthand decline, for example. The watching point setting unit 144 setsviewpoints for overlooking the city. The game watching screen generatingunit 145 renders images of the city as viewed from the viewpoints thusestablished. The watching screen generating unit 243 of the watchingmanaging server 200 generates the watching screen displaying a gamewatching screen that is generated by the game watching screen generatingunit 145 and distributed by the streaming server 300. The watchingscreen generating unit 243 then transmits the generated watching screento the watching player terminal 500. The watching screen acquiring unit541 of the watching player terminal 500 acquires the watching screenfrom the watching managing server 200. The watching screen displayingunit 542 displays the acquired watching screen on the display device566.

In the simulation by the game controlling unit 141 of the game managingserver 100, a riot by people at facilities built in the city may besimulated. In that case, the mini game executability determining unit152 determines that the conditions for the mini game to be executablehave been met. The mini game information transmitting unit 150 thentransmits to the watching managing server 200 information about ashooting game for bringing the rioting people under control. Thewatching screen UI managing unit 242 of the watching managing server 200adds to the watching screen a user interface for transmitting to thewatching managing server 200 an instruction to execute the mini game. Inthe example of FIG. 21, a notification 702 that a riot has occurred isdisplayed at the location on a game watching screen 700 where the riothas broken out. When the watching player touches the notification 702,the mini game acquiring unit 550 of the watching player terminal 500requests execution of the mini game from the watching managing server200. The mini game managing unit 250 of the watching managing server 200reads from the game data holding section 260 the shooting game forbringing the rioting people under control, the shooting game being themini game executable by the watching player. The mini game managing unit250 transmits the shooting game thus read to the watching playerterminal 500.

FIG. 22 shows still another typical watching screen displayed on thewatching player terminal. The mini game controlling unit 551 of thewatching player terminal 500 executes the mini game acquired from thewatching managing server 200. The mini game controlling unit 551superimposes and displays a mini game screen 712 on a game watchingscreen 710 to receive the input of the watching player's instructionsfrom the input device 520. During mini game execution, the watchingscreen displaying unit 542 acquires the game watching screen 710 fromthe streaming server 300 and continues to display the game watchingscreen 710 in the background of the mini game screen 712. When thewatching player touches the game watching screen 710 during mini gameexecution, the mini game controlling unit 551 may temporarily stop theexecution of the mini game and make the mini game screen 712 translucentor hidden from view to let the watching player view the entire gamewatching screen 710. Where the watching screen is offered as a webpage,the mini game may be provided as a program that can be executed on a webbrowser for viewing webpages. In another example, the mini game may beprovided as an application different from the application for viewingthe watching screen.

FIG. 23 shows another typical game screen displayed on the game playerterminal. After execution of the mini game has ended on the watchingplayer terminal 500, the mini game result transmitting unit 552 of thewatching player terminal 500 transmits the result of the mini game tothe watching managing server 200. The mini game managing unit 250 of thewatching managing server 200 transmits to the game managing server 100the mini game result acquired from the watching player terminal 500.Upon receipt of the mini game result from the watching managing server200, the mini game result receiving unit 151 of the game managing server100 forwards the received result to the game controlling unit 141. Ifthe watching player has successfully executed the mini game, the gamecontrolling unit 141 brings the people's riot under control in thesimulated city. At the location on a game screen 720 where peoplerioted, the game controlling unit 141 displays a notification 722 thatthe watching player has brought the riot under control. When the gameplayer touches the notification 722, the game controlling unit 141displays a user interface for transmitting a thank-you message to thewatching player. The game controlling unit 141 transmits the messagereceived from the game player to the watching player terminal 500 viathe watching managing server 200. If the watching player has failed inexecuting the mini game, the game controlling unit 141 continues tosimulate the situation where people are rioting.

The mini game may be one in which the game player builds a building inthe city. When the game controlling unit of the game managing server 100is set to build a building in the city in response to the game player'sinstruction, the mini game executability determining unit 152 determinesthat the conditions for mini game to be executable have been met. Thiscauses the mini game information transmitting unit 150 to transmit tothe watching managing server 200 the information about the mini game forconstructing a building. If the watching player has successfullyexecuted the mini game, the game controlling unit 141 may complete thebuilding more quickly than if the watching player has failed inexecuting the mini game. The game controlling unit 141 may determine thequality of the completed building in accordance with the score of themini game. For example, there may be prepared a plurality of buildingsof different qualities. The higher the mini game score, the higher thequality that may be afforded to the building to be built.

While the game player is executing the role playing game, the watchingplayer may be allowed to execute a mini game for canceling gimmicks suchas traps set in the game field. When the game player discovers a gimmickset in the game field and requests cancellation of the gimmick, the minigame executability determining unit 152 of the game managing server 100determines that the conditions for the mini game to be executable havebeen met. This causes the mini game information transmitting unit 150 totransmit to the watching managing server 200 the information about themini game for canceling the gimmick. If the watching player hassuccessfully executed the mini game, the game controlling unit 141cancels the gimmick set in the game field. If the watching player hasfailed in executing the mini game, the game controlling unit 141 doesnot cancel the gimmick. Alternatively, the watching player may beallowed to execute a mini game for setting a gimmick in the game field.In this case, the game controlling unit 141 sets the gimmick in the gamefield if the watching player has successfully executed the mini game. Ifthe watching player has failed in executing the mini game, the gamecontrolling unit 141 does not set the gimmick.

While the game player is executing the role playing game, the watchingplayer may be allowed to execute a mini game for generating an item, acharacter, or some other entity and giving it to the game player. Themini game executability determining unit 152 of the game managing server100 maintains the mini game always executable by the watching player.The watching screen UI managing unit 242 of the watching managing server200 continuously displays on the watching screen a user interface forissuing the instruction to execute the mini game. The watching playermay execute the mini game at a desired timing. If the watching playerhas successfully executed the mini game, the game controlling unit 141gives the game player an item, a character, or other entity inaccordance with the mini game type. In this case, the game controllingunit 141 may also determine the item, character, or other entity to begiven away in accordance with the score of the mini game.

The mini game may also be one in which input operations are performed intune with music. The piece of music to be used in the mini game may beone associated with the game, such as the theme song of the gameexecuted by the game player, a tie-up song in collaboration with aproject associated with the game, a cheering song, or a song selected bythe game player. The mini game may be staged so that the watching playerwill clap his/her hands and wave his/her megaphone in time to thecheering song, for example, to root for the game player. The gamecontrolling unit 141 may give benefits to the game player in accordancewith the score of the mini game. After acquisition of the result of themini game, the game screen generating unit 142 or the game watchingscreen generating unit 145 may display how the watching player's avataris dancing in time to the music on the game screen or on the gamewatching screen. At this time, if the mini game score is high, theavatar may be shown to dance well in time to the music; if the mini gamescore is not very high, the avatar may be shown to dance poorly.Alternatively, the results of the mini game executed by a plurality ofwatching players may be acquired, and the avatars of these watchingplayers may be displayed simultaneously. This will allow the watchingplayers to share a sense of unity.

The mini game may also be one that allows the watching player to changethe position of the viewpoint from which to watch the game. For example,the mini game may be one in which a character is moved across the gamefield where gimmicks, enemy characters, and other entities are arranged.The watching point setting unit 144 of the game managing server 100 mayset the watching point at the position reached by the character duringthe mini game. This will heighten the watching player's interest whenthe watching player changes the watching point. The degree of difficultyof a mini game for changing the watching point to a position that givesa better view of the game may be set to be higher than the degree ofdifficulty of a mini game for switching to some other watching point. Ifa plurality of watching points are provided and any one of them can beset, a plurality of positions to be reached during the mini game may beestablished relative to the watching points.

The mini game managing unit 250 of the watching managing server 200 mayallow the same mini game associated with the game executed by the samegame player to be executable by a plurality of watching players inparallel. In this case, of the results of the mini game executed by themultiple watching players, only the result meeting a predeterminedcondition (e.g., the result from the watching player having successfullyexecuted the mini game faster than anyone else) may be reflected in thegame controlled by the game managing server 100. The mini game managingunit 250 may give benefits to the first watching player havingsuccessfully executed the mini game. The game screen generating unit 142or game watching screen generating unit 145 of the game managing server100 may also display, on the game screen or on the game watching screen,the results from the multiple watching players having executed the minigame.

In the game system of the first embodiment, the instruction inputreceived by the watching player terminal 500 from the watching player istransmitted to the game managing server 100 via the watching managingserver 200. The transmitted instruction input is reflected in the gameby the game controlling unit 141 of the game managing server 100. In thegame system of the second embodiment, the watching player terminal 500acquires and executes the mini game program. This means that theinstruction input by the watching player is instantaneously reflected inthe mini game being executed on the watching player terminal 500 withoutintervention of the game managing server 100. The second embodiment thusreduces the response delay time attributable to communication delaysduring mini game execution while giving the watching player theopportunity to participate in the game through execution of the minigame. With the mini game distributed to and executed on the watchingplayer terminal 500, the game managing server 100 and the watchingmanaging server 200 are protected from being overloaded.

After execution of the mini game, the watching player may be presentedwith a show dramatizing the result of the mini game being reflected inthe game, until the mini game result is actually reflected in the game.For example, after the mini game for generating an item has beensuccessfully executed, there may be a show dramatizing the generateditem being transported, until the item is actually given to the gameplayer. The show may be executed by the mini game controlling unit 551of the watching player terminal 500, by the mini game managing unit 250or watching screen generating unit 243 of the watching managing server200, or by the game screen generating unit 142 or game watching screengenerating unit 145 of the game managing server 100.

There may be no need to have the mini game result reflected immediatelyin the game. This applies, for example, to the above-mentioned mini gamefor generating the item, character, or other entity in the role playinggame. In such a case, the mini game acquiring unit 550 of the watchingplayer terminal 500 may store the acquired mini game into the game dataholding section 560. The mini game controlling unit 551 may read themini game from the game data holding section 560 at a suitable timing,have it executed offline, and store the result of the mini gameexecution into the game data holding section 560. When the communicationsection 530 becomes communicable with the watching managing server 200,the mini game result transmitting unit 552 may read the mini game resultfrom the game data holding section 560 and transmit the result to thewatching managing server 200. Alternatively, the mini game acquiringunit 550 may acquire a plurality of different mini games and store thegames into the game data holding section 560. In this case, the watchingplayer can enjoy executing any of the stored mini games locally even inan environment where communication is impossible.

While the present invention has been described in conjunction withspecific embodiments given as examples, it should be understood by thoseskilled in the art that the above-described composing elements andvarious processes may be combined in diverse ways and that suchcombinations, variations and modifications also fall within the scope ofthis invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 Game system-   100 Game managing server-   141 Game controlling unit-   142 Game screen generating unit-   143 Game player instruction receiving unit-   144 Watching point setting unit-   145 Game watching screen generating unit-   146 Watching player instruction receiving unit-   147 Watching screen UI information transmitting unit-   148 Game player managing unit-   150 Mini game information transmitting unit-   151 Mini game result receiving unit-   152 Mini game executability determining unit-   200 Watching managing server-   241 Watching request receiving unit-   242 Watching screen UI managing unit-   243 Watching screen generating unit-   244 Watching player instruction aggregating unit-   245 Watching player managing unit-   246 Passing-each-other communication managing unit-   250 Mini game managing unit-   300 Streaming server-   341 Game watching screen acquiring unit-   342 Game watching screen distributing unit-   400 Game player terminal-   420 Input device-   441 Game screen acquiring unit-   442 Game screen displaying unit-   443 Game player instruction receiving unit-   444 Game player instruction transmitting unit-   466 Display device-   500 Watching player terminal-   520 Input device-   541 Watching screen acquiring unit-   542 Watching screen displaying unit-   543 Watching player instruction receiving unit-   544 Watching player instruction transmitting unit-   550 Mini game acquiring unit-   551 Mini game controlling unit-   552 Mini game result transmitting unit-   566 Display device

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is applicable to game systems for controlling agame that can be participated in by a plurality of players.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A game controlling apparatus, comprising: agame controlling unit configured to execute an application program tocontrol a game based on gameplay of a game player; a game playerinstruction receiving unit configured to receive instructions from thegame player and forward the instructions to the game controlling unit inorder to manipulate the execution of the application program and toaffect the game; and a watching point setting unit configured to setrespective viewpoints, from among a plurality of viewpoints, serving asbases for generating respective watching screens for viewing the gameduring gameplay of the game player, which viewpoints are offered torespective watching players, among a plurality of watching players,different from the game player, wherein at least one of: (i) thewatching point setting unit employs watching player conditions regardingeach of the plurality of watching players for each of the plurality ofviewpoints; and (ii) the watching point setting unit employs one or morepredetermined conditions in setting one or more of the respectiveviewpoints, and wherein the game controlling apparatus renders videos toproduce respective game watching screens from the respective setviewpoints, where the videos provide views of the gameplay of the gameplayer for at least one of the plurality of watching players.
 2. Thegame controlling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the watchingplayer conditions include a maximum number of watching players, amongthe plurality of watching players, permitted to watch the game.
 3. Thegame controlling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the watchingpoint setting unit sets respective attributes employed in determiningwhich of the plurality of watching players are offered opportunities towatch the game.
 4. The game controlling apparatus according to claim 3,wherein the respective attributes are different for at least some of theplurality of viewpoints.
 5. The game controlling apparatus according toclaim 4, wherein the respective attributes include at least one of agesof the plurality of watching players, genders of the plurality ofwatching players, and skill levels of the plurality of watching players.6. The game controlling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thewatching point setting unit does not change the viewpoint in response toany request from any of the plurality of watching players.
 7. The gamecontrolling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or morepredetermined conditions include respective positions of one or moreobjects in the game, and the watching point setting unit sets at leastone of the plurality of viewpoints to be at one of the respectivepositions of one of the one or more objects.
 8. The game controllingapparatus according to claim 7, wherein the watching point setting unitdeletes the at least one of the plurality of viewpoints to be the one ofthe respective positions of the one of the one or more objects when theone of the one or more objects disappears from view due to the gameplayof the game player.
 9. The game controlling apparatus according to claim8, wherein the watching point setting unit responds to an instruction byone of the plurality of watching players, who was assigned the deletedone of the plurality of viewpoints, by changing to a different viewpointamong the plurality of viewpoints.
 10. The game controlling apparatusaccording to claim 9, wherein the watching point setting unit respondsby changing to the different viewpoint among the plurality of viewpointsonly when at least one of the following conditions is met: (i) the oneof the plurality of watching players is charged a predetermined amountof money; and (ii) a predetermined time period has elapsed.
 11. The gamecontrolling apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: awatching player instruction aggregating unit configured to receiverespective action execution instructions from among the plurality ofwatching players, aggregate the respective action executioninstructions, and transmit the aggregated action execution instructionsto the game controlling unit, wherein the game controlling unit executesthe game in accordance with the aggregated action execution instructionstransmitted from the watching player instruction aggregating unit. 12.The game controlling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at leastsome information regarding gameplay is presented on at least some of thewatching screens for viewing the game offered to the respective watchingplayers, which at least some information is not presented on a gamescreen presented to the game player during gameplay.
 13. A game system,comprising: a game controlling apparatus, including: (a) a gamecontrolling unit configured to execute an application program to controla game based on gameplay of a game player; (b) a game player instructionreceiving unit configured to receive instructions from the game playerand forward the instructions to the game controlling unit in order tomanipulate the execution of the application program and to affect thegame; and (c) a watching point setting unit configured to set respectiveviewpoints, from among a plurality of viewpoints, serving as bases forgenerating respective watching screens for viewing the game duringgameplay of the game player, which viewpoints are offered to respectivewatching players, among a plurality of watching players, different fromthe game player, wherein at least one of: (i) the watching point settingunit employs watching player conditions regarding each of the pluralityof watching players for each of the plurality of viewpoints; and (ii)the watching point setting unit employs one or more predeterminedconditions in setting one or more of the respective viewpoints; a userinterface managing unit configured to transmit and receive informationto and from any of a plurality of watching player terminals used by anyof the watching players; and a watching player instruction receivingunit configured to receive respective action execution instructions fromamong the plurality of watching players, and transmit the respectiveaction execution instructions to the game controlling unit, wherein thegame controlling apparatus renders videos to produce respective gamewatching screens from the respective set viewpoints, where the videosprovide views of the gameplay of the game player for at least one of theplurality of watching players.
 14. The game system of claim 13, whereinthe game controlling unit executes respective actions in accordance withthe respective action execution instructions forwarded from the watchingplayer instruction receiving unit, whereby the actions affect thegameplay.
 15. A game controlling method, comprising: execute anapplication program to control a game based on gameplay of a gameplayer; receiving instructions from the game player and forwarding theinstructions for controlling the game in order to manipulate theexecution of the application program and to affect the game; and settingrespective viewpoints, from among a plurality of viewpoints, serving asbases for generating respective watching screens for viewing the gameduring gameplay of the game player, which viewpoints are offered torespective watching players, among a plurality of watching players,different from the game player, wherein at least one of: (i) the settingincludes employing watching player conditions regarding each of theplurality of watching players for each of the plurality of viewpoints;and (ii) the setting includes employing one or more predeterminedconditions in setting one or more of the respective viewpoints, andwherein the execution of the application program renders videos toproduce respective game watching screens from the respective setviewpoints, where the videos provide views of the gameplay of the gameplayer for at least one of the plurality of watching players.
 16. Thegame controlling method according to claim 15, wherein the watchingplayer conditions include a maximum number of watching players, amongthe plurality of watching players, permitted to watch the game.
 17. Thegame controlling method according to claim 15, wherein the settingincludes employing the respective attributes in determining which of theplurality of watching players are offered opportunities to watch thegame.
 18. The game controlling method according to claim 17, wherein therespective attributes are different for at least some of the pluralityof viewpoints.
 19. The game controlling method according to claim 18,wherein the respective attributes include at least one of ages of theplurality of watching players, genders of the plurality of watchingplayers, and skill levels of the plurality of watching players.
 20. Thegame controlling method according to claim 15, wherein the setting doesnot change the viewpoint in response to any request from any of theplurality of watching players.
 21. The game controlling method accordingto claim 15, wherein the one or more predetermined conditions includerespective positions of one or more objects in the game, and the settingincludes setting at least one of the plurality of viewpoints to be atone of the respective positions of one of the one or more objects. 22.The game controlling method according to claim 21, wherein the settingincludes deleting the at least one of the plurality of viewpoints to bethe one of the respective positions of the one of the one or moreobjects when the one of the one or more objects disappears from view dueto the gameplay of the game player.
 23. The game controlling methodaccording to claim 22, wherein the setting includes responding to aninstruction by one of the plurality of watching players, who wasassigned the deleted one of the plurality of viewpoints, by changing toa different viewpoint among the plurality of viewpoints.
 24. The gamecontrolling method according to claim 23, wherein the setting includesresponding by changing to the different viewpoint among the plurality ofviewpoints only when at least one of the following conditions is met:(i) the one of the plurality of watching players is charged apredetermined amount of money; and (ii) a predetermined time period haselapsed.
 25. The game controlling method according to claim 15, furthercomprising: receiving respective action execution instructions fromamong the plurality of watching players, aggregating the respectiveaction execution instructions, and transmitting the aggregated actionexecution instructions for the controlling, such that the controllingincludes executing the game in accordance with the aggregated actionexecution instructions.
 26. The game controlling method according toclaim 15, wherein at least some information regarding gameplay ispresented on at least some of the watching screens for viewing the gameoffered to the respective watching players, which at least someinformation is not presented on a game screen presented to the gameplayer during gameplay.